Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler
by KievaLynn
Summary: Just read "My Little Dashie" a few days ago, and I had to get this written. My own take on a sequel. There's a lot of them, I know, some great and some, well, not so great. Give me a try, I think you'll like my take on it.
1. Chapter 1

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

Author's Note: This is my attempt at a sequel for the well-known MLP Fanfic "My Little Dashie." Yes, I know there have been tons of these, and I liked a few of them, but far too many get abandoned (Or are simply terrible). I'm hoping to put my own spin on this, particularly regarding Celestia's attitude (Far too negative in most of these sequels), and Dash's adoptive father's fate (He won't end up turned into a pony himself, or living in Equestria, though he will pass through briefly.) I'll also be addressing a question I've not seen any sequel fic tackle: Just who put the young Dashie in that box and wrote the "Give to good home" message on it, and why...?

Author's Note Two: Please note that the time-stamps used in the early part of this story ( "Earth, Day One" for example) denote how long it has been, in the world the scene takes place in, since Dash's return to Equestria. Also note that the chronological order of these days will seem off, as compared to the established pattern of "One Equestria Day = One Earth Year." There is a reason for this, as will become apparent soon enough.

XXXXXXX

Earth: Day One: Brian Dashell awoke early in the morning from a restless night of nightmares. He grumbled to himself as he rose to his feet and walked to the bathroom. After taking care of his morning needs, he went to the room that had been his daughter's. Only a nondescript office now stood there, no sign whatsoever of the many years Dashie had called it home. He sighed. As he awoke, Brian had hoped against all hope that it had all been a dream, that she was still with him. But the previous day's events had been all too real, and his daughter was back where she belonged.

Walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, Brian poured a bowl of cereal and sat, eating and looking through the photo album Celestia had been kind enough to leave intact. It was all he had of her now. All that was left of fifteen years of his life.

"No." Brian insisted to himself, forcing that notion out of his mind. "No, the album isn't all that's left. I've got the memories in my mind, the love in my heart. Nothing can take that away." He chuckled to himself, as he had to admit that the temptation was indeed there to drown himself in his sorrows, and it would be hard to blame him for that. And indeed, he would need to call in sick to work, take a few days to pull himself together. "But I can do it. I can do it, and for her sake, I will do it. After all, it would be a slur on the memory of our time together if I didn't..."

Earth: Day Thirty: Brian was doing better than he expected. He was getting out, spending time with people outside of work. He hadn't did anything of the sort for a long time, not just since Dashie had come into his life, but since before his parents had died. He was even thinking of trying to work up the courage to ask a particular co-worker out on a date. It wasn't that he was over things, not by a long shot. He still couldn't look at the photo album without crying, and still had nightmares of the day Celestia had showed up at his door. But dreams of the good days were beginning to outnumber the nightmares, and he could even watch his DVD's of the show without breaking down. It was nice to see her, even if through that medium...

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day One: When the ponies arrived back in their own world, Rainbow was unconscious. Applejack was worried, but Twilight explained that the condition was a to be expected part of the memory-spell process. She would sleep for perhaps a full day before waking up with her old memories intact and the new memories of Earth repressed.

"So she'll be the Dashie we know again?" Pinkie asked.

"She should be." Twilight answered. "We'll know for sure once she wakes up."

Before anything else could be said, there was a puff of green smoke, followed by the appearance of a magical scroll addressed to Celestia. The Princess read it aloud:

"Celestia: Please return to Canterlot as soon as you can. The royal astronomers require your attention for a matter of some immediate import. - Luna"

"Odd..." Celestia murmured. "Astronomy issues are usually my sister's province."

"Would you like for me to come along Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head no. "Stay, my student. Keep watch over your friend." With that the sun princess vanished as she teleported away.

Five ponies gathered around the sleeping form of their friend. "So what'da we do?" Applejack asked.

"Yes. The poor dear is going to wonder about the fifteen days of our time she's missing." Rarity agreed.

"We'll just have to tell her that there was an accident and she had a concussion that knocked her out for two weeks." Twilight said. "What else can we do? At least it's half-true in the accident part..."

Equestria: Day Eight: Rainbow's friends were worried. At first, it had seemed that the memory spell had worked perfectly. She had awoken early on the second day with no signs of anything amiss. She accepted the 'concussion' explanation and joined them for breakfast before rushing off to her weather-control job. She hadn't even flinched when Pinkie had unthinkingly called her "Dashie."

But as the days passed it was clear that the experience had not left Rainbow unscathed. She seemed tired, as if not sleeping well, and there was a subtle difference to her personality. It was Fluttershy who finally put her hoof on the difference. When they were gathered without Rainbow, discussing the issue, she whispered "The arrogance is gone. She's still Rainbow Dash in most ways. Still loves athletics, competition, bad practical jokes... Still loves to win, still has pride in how fast she is... But she's not stuck-up about it anymore."

"But how could that be?" Applejack asked. "How could her life on Earth have changed her when she doesn't remember it?"

Twilight Sparkle shrugged helplessly. "I don't know... I just don't know..."

XXXXXXX

Earth: Day Forty-Five: Brian stepped into the diner, holding the door open for his date. Miri was such a beautiful woman, five foot ten with amber eyes and blonde hair, ten years his junior... He was shocked when she said yes to a date. One date had become five, and he was getting used to the idea of a steady girlfriend for the first time in his life.

They sat at a table and ordered, exchanging small talk while waiting for their meals. "So," Miri asked, "What made you move out here from the big city? Kind of the middle of nowhere for you isn't it?"

"At first it felt that way, but that's what I wanted."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. The city was dying. And dangerous." He decided to take a small risk, just enough truth to explain himself without looking like a kook. "I wanted to get my daughter out of there."

"Daughter!?" Miri exclaimed. "I didn't know you had children."

"I don't anymore. She's... gone." Realizing what that sounded like, he added "Not dead, you understand... She wasn't really my biological child. I was just caring for her when no one else could, until her real family was able to come back for her... It's a long story."

Miri said "I'd like to hear it sometime. But, not now, I can see the tears trying to start, as good a job as you're doing of holding them back."

"Thanks."

"Sure thing. And who knows, maybe you'll get to see her again someday."

"Not likely." Brian thought, but he simply said "I hope so."

Earth: Day Sixty-Four: Brian led Miri through the front door into his home. It was her first time here, and she looked around with interest as he gave her the tour, one thing in particular really sticking out to her: "No pictures?"

Brian chuckled. "I've got pictures everywhere." He said, "Look, here's me with my parents when I was ten."

"You know what I mean. No pictures of the girl you took care of. You considered her your daughter, but you don't have any pictures up of her?"

Brian sighed. The truth, of course, is that there had been tons of framed pictures of Dashie on the walls, until Celestia magically cleansed everything but the photo album. Luckily, he had a believable explanation: "Well... I still miss her so much... I couldn't bear to look at them."

Compassion came over Miri's face. "I see. Well, maybe someday you'll feel able to want them back up again."

"Someday." Brian answered. "Anyway, we're here to watch a film. I'll make the popcorn, you look under the TV for something you wanna watch."

Miri nodded and began looking through the collection. She passed the feature films and found a number of television show collections. And in the midst of it... "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. Brian stepped back into the room as she held up a box. "Friendship is Magic!? The girl's, or were you a closet brony?"

"A little of both. What of it?"

Miri grinned. "Cool."

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day Fifteen: Rainbow Dash tossed and turned in her sleep. A close look would reveal the tell-tale indicators of REM sleep, a sure sign that she was dreaming. For most of the dream, she had been still, even smiling. But now her face contorted with distress and fear, until finally she burst into wakefulness, a scream caught in her throat. She shook herself off and flew into her kitchen for a glass of water. "What's wrong with me?" She thought. Something was different, but she didn't know what it was. As much as she hated it, it was time to seek help. Fortunately, she knew just who she should go to.

Twilight was woke by an insistent pounding on the Library door. Unable to wake up Spike, she went to answer herself, grumbling about it being two in the morning. Opening the door, she was greeted by a haggard Dashie who said "Twi, what's wrong with me?"

Ten minutes later, pegasus and unicorn were seated across from each other in Twilight's kitchen, each with a cup of hot tea. "Tell me what's been happening?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow sighed and began "Ever since I woke up from that concussion... Something's been off. I'm not the same mare I was before. I remember how my attitude used to be, but that's not me now. And, on the one hand I'm glad. I like who I am now better. But I also remember how I was, and I don't understand how I could have been that way in the first place, or why I'm different now."

"Dash..." Twilight started to say, but Rainbow continued...

"And, I can't get rid of this strange feeling like there's something missing from my life. Some huge part of me just not there. And the dream... I never remember it, but somehow I know it's the exact same dream every night... It stars out good. Happy. Probably happier than I remember ever feeling, but it turns scary somehow at the end, and I wake up afraid..."

"Dash, I'm so sorry..."

"Just give it to me straight Twily... Did that accident mess something up in my head for good?"

"I really doubt it." Twilight answered. "But maybe you should go to the doctor tomorrow just in case."

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good. So, you wanna stay here tonight? I've got the guest room..."

"Yeah, thanks."

They finished their tea, and Twilight showed her friend to the guest bed and waited with her until she was asleep. She then crept back to her own room and forced her assistant awake. "Spike, " she said, "Take a letter to Celestia..."


	2. Chapter 2

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Two

Earth: Day Seventy: Early on a Saturday morning, Brian awoke, stretched the creaks out of his joints, and showered. He smiled to himself as he thought about Miri. Of all the luck, to have found a girl that liked FIM, so many years after the show had ended. He imagined Dashie's voice: "Daddy, you hit the jackpot." Brian was still chuckling to himself over that when the realization struck him that he had done so without becoming saddened by the thought of her.

"Guess I really am getting better." He thought as he dressed. "I'm gonna be okay Dashie... For the first time, I'm not just saying that. I really believe it... And I know you will be too." Though he wasn't good with math, he tried to estimate. "One day equals one year... Two hours a month... It's been a little more than four hours in Equestria..."

Shrugging, Brian finished dressing, ate breakfast, and drove into town to meet Miri. They had a full day planned, after all...

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day Sixteen: The previous day, Rainbow had awoken from her night in Twilight's guest room feeling somewhat better, and left for her workday after assuring the unicorn that she would visit the doctor if she had any further problems. For her part, Twilight spent the rest of the day anxiously awaiting the arrival of Celestia's reply to her letter. She worked the Library 'til noon, had lunch with Rarity and Fluttershy, and spent the evening pacing. No letter arrived.

When she was eating breakfast with Spike the next day, she expressed her concerns. "I can't believe the Princess didn't answer back! This is important Spike, it's not like her to let that kind of thing go."

"She _is_ the Sun Princess." The dragon answered, dusting his pancakes with ground rubies, "Maybe she's just been too busy."

"Maybe..." Twilight agreed, though she didn't sound convinced.

Half an hour later, shortly after opening for business, Twilight looked up as the front door opened and a pair of Royal Guards entered in shining golden barding, the one to the right announcing "Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia." The Sun Alicorn stepped in and greeted her student.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed, bowing. She gazed around nervously at the disorganized chamber, books strewn about in random piles. "I wasn't expecting you, or I would have..."

"Calm yourself my student." Celestia chuckled. She turned to the guards. "I'm safe enough here. Round up the other elements, except for Rainbow Dash. We have much to discuss."

The guards exchanged unhappy looks, not liking the idea of leaving their monarch unprotected, but did as commanded. "Princess?" Twilight asked. "Why...?"

"Rainbow Dash will be informed soon enough. We have much to discuss first..." The alicorn seemed more troubled than her protege had ever seen as she continued "I'm quite old Twilight, as you know... I've ruled for centuries, and tried my best to learn wisdom and discernment. And I must say, at the risk of boasting, that I have mostly succeeded. I do not often make mistakes." A single tear rolled down her face. "I have erred concerning your friend."

"But Princess..."

"Patience. We will speak more fully when the others arrive."

It was only a short wait before the Royal Guards returned, one with Rarity and Pinkie, the other with Fluttershy and Applejack. Celestia ordered the guards to wait outside, then began. "I received your letter Twilight. Concerning Rainbow Dash."

"What's wrong with 'er Princess?" AJ asked.

"Yes, she's just not quite herself since the... ...incident." Rarity agreed.

"You don't know the half of it." Twilight said, and told them about Rainbow's late-night visit, and the things she had confessed.

AJ shook her head. "But that don't make no sense! None of it does! You did the spell right didn't you? She don't remember..."

Celestia intervened. "Twilight made no error with the spell." She sighed. "I should have seen this coming, really..."

"Seen what coming? What's happening to her?" Twilight asked.

Pinkie said "Yeahwhat'shappening? Rainbow'sourfriendwe'reworriedabout her!"

"There are two forces at work here." The Princess began to explain. "First, the memory spell does NOT 'erase' any memories. It submerges them, to a point where the conscious mind does not have access, but they are still there... Rainbow Dash spent fifteen years on Earth. She was raised from foalhood by that man. Those experiences are now a part of her, a part of the matrix that makes her who she is, and nothing could ever change that. This is why her personality is slightly different."

"But, shouldn't it have stopped with that?" Twilight asked. "Shouldn't the memories stay buried? She's dreaming about them. She feels a 'hole' in her life. She used what I assume was an Earth expression, 'On the other HAND' instead of 'On the other HOOF.' She didn't catch it, but I did."

Nodding, Celestia said "Yes. I expected the memories to remain forever buried. That was the error I mentioned earlier... As powerful as magic and friendship are, there is in fact one force in life even more powerful. The second force at work in this: Love. We all saw how she felt when we told her she had to come with us. She loves her 'father.' Loves him with all her heart... I fear that nothing can prevent the memories from resurfacing fully, and soon."

There was a general gasp of shock around the room. It was Fluttershy who finally timidly asked "Then what are we supposed to do?"

"What we did was wrong." AJ said. "I see it now. We never shoulda taken those memories from her. I'm sorry Princess, ah don't mean ta' question ya, but..."

"It's okay Applejack. I've come to the same conclusion. What concerns me is the possible impact on your friendship, given that Twilight was the one who actually cast the spell. The bonds of Harmony must not be damaged. That is why I will be here, while you call Rainbow Dash back and reveal the truth to her. I will make it clear to her that this is my fault, that you were only obeying a royal command you did not like and should not be blamed." Celestia looked down at the floor.

"When will we do it?" AJ asked.

"The sooner the better, before the memories return on their own. I think we have a few days yet, but..."

"Day after tomorrow!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Dashie's off work that day. She'll have time to think it through!" Everyone stared at Pinkie, shocked to hear such a sound idea from her.

"Very well then." Celestia nodded. "I will return in two days." With that the Princess collected her guards and teleported back to Canterlot...

Equestria: Day Eighteen: Dash looked about in surprise as she entered the library to find not only her five fellow elements but also both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna waiting for her. "W... What's goin' on?" She asked.

"Sit, please." Celestia said. Rainbow did so and the Princess said "There is something you need to be made aware of... We have not been entirely honest with you about what happened."

"The accident?" Rainbow asked. "I've felt like something wasn't right almost since I woke up but..." She looked at her friends. "Why would you lie to me?"

"The deception was on my orders Rainbow Dash. At the time I thought it was for the best. I've come to see that I was wrong. I fully expect you to be angry with me, and I accept this, but I plead with you not to be angry with your friends. They did not like what I ordered, and did it only in obedience to me."

"Did what!?" Rainbow demanded. "What in the world is going on!?"

Twilight spoke next. "The first part of what we told you was true. The accident itself really did happen. But, instead of knocking you out for two weeks..." She paused, trying to think of the best way to word the next part of it. "Somehow the mixing of the two types of magic opened a doorway, a portal, into another world. You fell in, and the door closed behind you. It took us fifteen days to figure out where you were and how to get to you, and when we finally did..."

Twilight fell silent, unable to continue after seeing the look of shock and disbelief on Rainbow's face. Fluttershy whispered "When we got to the other world, we found out that time works different there. For every one day here, a whole year passes there."

"Wait hold on..." Rainbow interrupted. "Are you guys kidding me here? I don't feel fifteen years older than I was before, don't you think I'd notice something like that?"

"Ah'm sure ya would sugercube, but..."

"But what?"

Composing herself, Twilight said "There was another side-effect to the magic. When you fell into the portal it somehow de-aged you. You came out the other side as a filly, no cutie mark, no memories, nothing. It seems that you were found by one of the locals, who took you in and, well, re-raised you. You were basically his adopted daughter for fifteen years, until we came and bought you back."

Rainbow Dash wanted to laugh. Wanted to laugh and tell her friends that they had carried this absurd joke far enough. But, though she still couldn't remember, something deep in her heart was shouting loudly at her that it was the truth. "If all this happened," she finally asked, "Why don't I remember it?"

"Your friends needed their friend back." Celestia said. "And Equestria needed it's element-bearer, in case the power was required. I ordered Twilight to perform the memory-spell she used during the Discord incident to give you back the memories of your original life."

"Taking away my memories of my new life..."

"Not entirely." Twilight said. "Those memories are still there, just... buried. It was an unavoidable side-effect."

Celestia explained "We had thought that the memories would stay buried. We underestimated the strength of you bond with your adopted father."

"So... This is why I'm feeling and acting a little different now?" Rainbow shook her head. "And the dreams?"

Luna nodded. "You are dreaming of your life on Earth. Most of the dream is happy, memories of your life. It ends in fear, well, most likely it ends with Tia and the others arriving to bring you home."

Rainbow Dash wasn't sure how she should feel or act. She still didn't remember, but her gut was telling her it was all true. So far as that part of it went, it was kind of a relief to know she wasn't going nuts, or brain damaged. Though, that her friends would hide such a thing from her... Sure, it was a royal order they had to obey, but still... "If... If you'll excuse me princesses... I need to think about this on my own for awhile."

"Of course." Celestia nodded.

Luna agreed, "You may go. But keep in mind that your memories _are_ going to return, and soon. Be prepared."

The pegasus simply nodded to show that she had understood, then quickly spread her wings and flew away. "Princess..." Twilight began, crying.

Celestia stepped closer, nuzzling her student and draping a wing over her back. "It will be alright Twilight. Rough for a time perhaps, but it _will_ be alright..." For the first time in many decades, the princess was unsure of her own words.

XXXXXXX

Earth. Day Eighty-Four. Miri arrived at Brian's house to find a note with her name on it stuck to the door. "Miri," it read, "Called into work extra for a couple of hours. Back door's open so make yourself at home, there's cake in the fridge." She walked around to the back and entered the kitchen. The note said it had been written at eleven. Glancing at the clock she saw that it was now twelve-thirty, so Brian shouldn't be too much longer.

Miri peered into the icebox and grinned when she saw the cake was double-fudge almond, her favorite. Brian certainly knew how to spoil a girl. It was shaping up to be a good day, but that ended when the knife she was using to cut a slice slipped . Holding her cut hand tightly, Miri washed the excess blood away then went looking for antiseptics and bandages. She found the former in the medicine cabinet, but nothing to bandage herself. Feeling bad about it even though she had permission to be in the house, she went looking elsewhere.

Through drawers and cabinets Miri searched, finally finding what she was after in Brian's home office desk and finishing up her first-aid. Afterward, she took a closer look at the room than she had gotten before. The computer was ancient. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been used in years if not ever. No, wait, not everything. Situated on a shelf was a large thick photo album, without a speck of dust anywhere on it.

Curious, Miri picked it up and started to page through the photographs. The first half of the album was perfectly normal: Photos of Brian and what she assumed was his parents, beginning with Brian as a newborn, all the way up until he was nearly an adult. Miri turned another page and found a yellowing newspaper clipping, a headline regarding a terrible automobile accident in the city of Port Timbrey. Brian's parents were listed in the article as victims.

Miri turned another page, expecting the rest of the album to be photos of Brian alone, or perhaps his adopted daughter. Instead her eyes opened wider as she found picture after picture of Brian with Rainbow Dash photoshopped in. She had to admit that these were the best photoshops she had ever seen. But she grew apprehensive as she continued on, more and more photos, and finally a handwritten letter, purportedly from Dash to Brian. So focused had she become on the album that she was unaware of Brian's return home until he stepped into the room and saw her looking at the photos.

"Um, Brian..."

"I can explain that..." He answered, sitting down in the office chair.

"Can you?

"Well, I admit it's a long story..."

"How long? Brian, you actually believe this, don't you? You actually believe that Rainbow Dash was your adopted daughter? That she lived here with you?" Miri was on the verge of tears.

"My daughter is real."

"Oh, I believe that. I believe there really was a girl here you took care of... You couldn't handle losing her could you? So you made this nice little fantasy..."

"It's not a fantasy damnit!" Brian shouted. He realized how loud he had been. "Sorry... I'm sorry... But that's it then, isn't it? This scares you. You think I'm crazy and you're afraid of me now." He let his head rest on his knees, sobbing.

"I'm not afraid..." Miri said. "And I don't think you're actually crazy, just... ...In need of help. But, I can't deal with this. I'm sorry Brian. I'm sorry..." She turned and ran down the stairs and out the front door, jumping into her car and driving away, fighting the tears that Brian was also struggling against...


	3. Chapter 3

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

Author's Note: Dash's memories in this chapter reference both the original story and a number of good short story additions various people have written for it.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Three

Equestria: Day Twenty: Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth from one end of the library to the other. There had been no sign of Rainbow Dash since their confession of the truth two days earlier. She hadn't come back to the library, nor been seen anywhere in Ponyville or the surrounding area. The Weather Patrol confirmed that Dash hadn't shown up for work. Applejack checked the whole of the farm without locating her in any trees, and Fluttershy had even flown up to Dash's home, but got no answer nor saw any sign of Dash through any of the windows.

"Spike!" Twilight shouted, but then thought better. "No, never mind Spike... The Princess would just tell me to be patient right now."

"She'd be right Twi." The dragon said. "I'm sure Rainbow just needs time. She'll come back when she's ready."

"But what if she's never ready!?" Twilight exclaimed. "I don't want to lose a friend over this!"

"You won't!" Spike answered, exasperated. He knew this behavior all too well. Twilight was on the verge of going neurotic over the situation. "Look, have some faith. Rainbow Dash knows you were only following orders. She's your friend, and no matter how mad she might get that's not going to change..."

"Maybe..."

"For sure. Now relax, sit down, maybe read a good book."

"Right." Twilight sighed.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Fluttershy were standing on the edge of the Everfree Forest, debating whether to brave it's dangers. "Y'all don't really think she'd go in there alone?"

Peering nervously from behind the hair that obscured her face, Fluttershy answered "Well... maybe... We know how she wasn't thinking straight when she left."

"Ah reckon you're right there. Somepony's gotta check it out anyway."

"Thanks for helping me out. Um, I don't suppose you'd like to go first...?"

"Aw fer cryin' out... Alright, let's go."

Watching and listening from nearby, Rainbow couldn't believe they were actually going into the dangerous forest to search for her. Well, she couldn't have that. Flying out from concealment, she flew up and landed behind her friends. "Hang on, I'm right here. Don't go in there."

"Dash!" Applejack exclaimed. "Where ya been? We all been worried sick!"

"Yeah yeah, it's no big deal. I've just been thinking is all."

"You're not still m...mad at us are you?" Fluttershy squeaked out.

"I guess not." Dash replied. "It's not like the Princess gave you any choice, right?"

"No, she didn't. You know that none of us liked it at all right? Even before we knew you were going to remember?"

When Rainbow said nothing more, Applejack asked "Speakin' o that... You remember yet?"

Dash shook her head. "No. Except in dreams, but I forget those as soon as I wake up... Do you know what it's like for me now?" She asked, a hint of anger returning to her voice. "I can't wait to go to sleep, because I know I'll have the happy dreams. But at the same time I'm afraid to go to sleep because I know how scary it'll get right before I wake up."

Applejack and Fluttershy exchanged a shocked look. Rainbow Dash admitting to being afraid of something? "It'll get better." Fluttershy whispered.

"I hope so." Dash answered.

"Will ya go see Twi? She's almost wearing a hole in her floor from the pacin'"

"I will... Not yet though... I can't yet, I mean, she... she's..."

"She's the one who actually cast the spell."

"Yeah. Makes it harder to get over, y'know?"

"Ah guess it would." Applejack nodded in understanding. "But she's still your friend."

Deciding not to answer, Dash spread her wings to fly away. Before she could get anywhere, Fluttershy reached over and grabbed a hoof. "Don't stay away from us. We're here for you."

Dash nodded and flew off into the bright-blue sky. "Well,, c'mon." Applejack said. "Let's go at least let Twilight know she's okay..."

XXXXXXX

Earth: Day Eighty-Six: Brian Dashel wandered aimlessly through his house. There were so many good memories here. But they were memories of a life that he no longer had. Dashie was gone, and he was dealing with that, but now he had a new wrinkle to deal with in Miri's discovery of the photo album.

When she had left, his first fear was that he would soon be getting a visit from men with strait jackets and tranquilizers. But of course that was unlikely even if Miri did go telling people about the album: After all, it wasn't common practice to haul in anyone reported as insane, you had to be a proven danger for that to happen and Brian had worked in town long enough for people to know that wasn't him.

He still felt that things couldn't continue as they had. No doubt Miri, in her conviction that he needed help, had spoken with someone. And in a small town talk spread fast. That would make going back into town, whether going to work or even just for shopping, awkward at best. He couldn't do it. With a weary sigh, Brian gathered his clothing, his laptop, and the photo album. Nothing else mattered. No, check that: Brian returned to the kitchen and penned a short letter in case Miri returned. Sticking it to the front of the fridge, he returned to the car and sat behind the wheel. The only remaining question was where he was going...

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day Twenty-One: In the very early morning, just past midnight, Rainbow Dash tossed and turned atop her soft bed of clouds. Her sleep was turning fitful, and as she dreamed she began to talk in her sleep...

She was falling, falling, a dark void with a bright light below. She felt her mind slipping away, but didn't know what was happening, or why.

She awoke from a deep sleep, dizzy and confused. All around her were drab brown walls, until she looked up and saw a strange creature looming over her, framed against the bright blue sky beyond. "Heh heh... Hi there! What are you doing out here?" She's cold. It's freezing out, and the creature notices her discomfort. It reaches down into the box, trying to grab her, and she's filled with terror, her heart beating rapidly. She struggles, legs squirming, tiny wings flapping, but it's all to no end. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. Let's get you someplace warm..." She can't understand the words, but the tone of voice is kind, and she feels the warmth of it's body. She snuggles in closer.

Other scenes flitter rapidly through her mind. Exploring a new home. Splashing about in a sink full of warm water as the creature tries to bathe her. Learning to say a few words, chief among them, 'Daddy." Halloween, the creature, Daddy, leading her around the house with a plastic bag in her mouth, finding candy. "Twickertweat!" As she finds each piece and carefully puts it in the bag...

Christmas. Funny tree in the living room, a bright blue ball inside a wrapped box, spending the rest of the day bouncing it around with her muzzle. Cartoons. Spongebob, and a Spongebob nightlight in her room. Learning to read and write, hooves no good for that but the pen in her mouth worked well enough. Trips to the abandoned park.

Learning to fly. Oh, so many discouraging false starts. So many falls,, cuts, scrapes, bruises both physical and to her pride. But always Daddy there by her side, encouraging her to not give up. "You can do it Dashie. I know you can." So she tries again and again, and cheers for joy when she makes it fifty feet across the parkland. A short hop, but a good start. She does it again and again, better each time.

A thought occurs to her one day as she flies. "How fast can I go?" She decides to find out. Pouring on everything she has, she's shocked as a sudden BOOM echoes around her, accompanied by a burst of rainbow colored light. She returns to the ground, exhilarated, only for Daddy to grab her up and rush home. "Did I do something wrong?" She asks.

"No Dashie, but it's a good idea not to do that. People will notice. But hey, look at this!" He points to her flank.

Looking, she sees a mark on her hip, like a cloud with a rainbow colored bolt. "W... What is that?" She listens attentively as Daddy explains what a 'cutie mark' is.

More brief images as further memories pass through her mind.

"Good night Daddy... I love you."

"I love you too, Dashie."

Moving day. A new home, far out in the country. Plenty of room to fly. No one else around to see. "Hey Dad, maybe I should get a job." The horrible realization of being different. Not that she hadn't known, of course, but to have it driven home... Daddy apologetic, odd jobs around the house. Spending money, even if she had to tell Dad what she wanted for him to get it for her.

Daddy gone to work. Bored. Flipping channels. "My Little Pony, My Little Pony..." What the...? That looks like me..." "How long have you known about this!? HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN!?" Anger. Can't stay, go out the window. Three days of pain, sorrow, confusion. How could he have known and not told her? And how could this be? Was she really just a cartoon character? Was she not real, a figment of someone's imagination? But she felt real.

High in a tree in the rain. What to do? Daddy's voice nearby. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so sorry Dashie." Daddy under the tree. A crack as a stick snaps when she lands on it.

"Daddy? Do you still love me?"

"Of course I do. I'll always love you."

More memories, another rapid blur of passing time. Watching the Indy 500 from atop a cloud. A shoebox full of memories. Fifteen happy years with Daddy, now her twentieth birthday. Plans for an airshow together. The doorbell rings. It all crashes down. Celestia. Princess Celestia and the other ponies from the cartoon. After finding out about the show, she had watched a number of episodes and even looked it up online. A bit freaky for her, of course, but she was curious. And she had decided that it had to be coincidence. She couldn't be the arrogant mare on the show, no matter how much they looked alike. But now the others were here, to "take her home."

For the first time in years, Rainbow Dash was terrified. She didn't want to go. She WAS home already, home was here with Daddy. Even if these ponies were her friends, Daddy was her family, and she didn't remember them at all. But Celestia was adamant, and Daddy was putting on a brave face, trying to convince her that this was for the best. She knew exactly what he was doing. But there was no choice, was there?

Begging with Celestia to let Daddy remember, to let him keep the photo album. To let her keep her shoebox of keepsakes. A long, tight, tearful hug goodbye. Everyone else in tears too, even the Princess' eyes welling with tears.

Light flares around Twilight's horn. The fear builds. Dashie remembers how she felt so long ago when Daddy first reached into the box to pick her up. She had been scared then. She remembers, as a filly, waking up when Daddy thought she was asleep and walking in to find him watching 'Nightmare on Elm Street.' That that scared her half to death before he noticed her and turned it off. Nothing else compared to this fear though. As the glowing horn drew nearer, she wanted nothing more than to scream and run, flying away as fast as she could. The horn touched her forehead, the glow spread throughout her body, her home faded from view...

Rainbow Dash bolted up out of her bed. "DADDY!" She screamed. She panted, trying to calm herself down. "Daddy..." She repeated more quietly. Daddy. She knew. She remembered. She was _pissed_.


	4. Chapter 4

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Four

Equestria: Day Twenty-One: In the middle of the night Twilight Sparkle was torn from her dreams by the sound of heavy beating on the library door. Grumbling to herself, she rose from bed and trotted down the stairs half asleep. All sleep evaporated from her mind in an instant when she opened the door to find Rainbow Dash, her face a heartbreaking mix of sadness and rage. "How could you!?" Dash bellowed when she saw her friend.

"Dash, I..." Twilight began, "You... You remember everything,don't you?"

"You're bucking right I remember!" Rainbow screamed. "How could you take me away like that? How could you take my memories? You're supposed to be my friend Twilight!"

"I, I am your friend... I didn't wanna hurt you, but the Princess..."

"Yeah! The Princess can't be wrong can she!?" Rainbow shouted. She fell to a sitting position, crying openly but still yelling in anger. "I had family Twilight! Family!"

"You... You have your family here Rain..."

"What family!? Don't you remember? I was raised in an orphanage here! Birth to adulthood, no one wanted to adopt the loud little tomcolt! No one here anyway. He did. He took me into his home and cared for me like I was really his daughter! I had a Father, I had someone who loved me and then you came and stole me away from him and didn't even let me remember it!" Rainbow's body shuddered as she was overcome with grief.

Crying now as well, Twilight said "I couldn't disobey the Princess Rainbow. I just couldn't... And you are loved here, we're your friends and we all love you..."

"Friends don't do what you did Twilight. Royal order or not. Friends are loyal. But then, I guess that's why I'm loyalty and not you."

Twilight stepped back, deeply hurt by her friend's words. Rainbow simply shook her head. "I... I can't handle this right now..." She spread her wings and flew away as fast as she could, ignoring Twilight's tormented calls for her to come back.

Shuddering in grief and fear for her friend, Twilight walked to her desk and began composing a letter to Celestia, detailing what had just occurred.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am writing to inform you that Rainbow Dash's memories have returned.

She just left my home after yelling at me and saying some truly terrible

things. I do not blame her for the things which she said; she is in pain, and not

thinking clearly. I am in fact afraid for her, for I don't know what she might do

in her current state of mind. If there is any way that you can help her,

I plead with you to do so. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.

After finishing the letter, Twilight woke Spike long enough to send it, then tried to go back to bed. She couldn't sleep at all...

XXXXXXX

Earth: Day Ninety: Miri sat in the diner she and Brian had frequented, in the booth they usually chose, staring into an untouched milkshake. She really wasn't sure what she should do. She hadn't told anyone about what she had found out about Brian. For one thing, it wouldn't do any good. No matter how disturbed he might be to be believing this 'pony-daughter' fantasy she didn't think he was dangerous. That just wasn't Brian. Which was good, except that it meant that she couldn't get anyone to _make_ him get the help he needed. In fact, all speaking up, even to just one person, would do was to let everyone know. Small towns are like that after all. And she didn't want to make it worse by causing there to be idiots making fun of him.

And for another thing, in spite of all this she still loved him. He was smart, considerate, caring, funny... Not bad looking either, she thought with a grin. A bit old for her, she knew her mother would say, but they were both adults and she had seen such relationships work before. "He's not insane, not crazy." Miri thought to herself. "He's just, I dunno, mixed up. He must have really, _really _loved that adopted daughter of his." She wondered to herself just what the girl's real family was like, that they wee so cruel to not let Brian have any contact with the girl at all. She grew angry at them for that, but then another thought crossed her mind;

"Was I so different? What the hell kind of girlfriend am I anyway, that I walked out on him in his hour of need?" She let her head slump down onto the table. "What kind of heartless witch walks out on her boyfriend when he needs her? How could I do that!?" Miri sat that way for a long time, going over the same thoughts in her mind, trying to work out what she should do. Eventually, she sat back up and looked around the diner. The place was reasonably full, lots of customers and employees, and a thought came to her. "I sat there with my head on the table for at least twenty minutes. And not one person here even asked if I was okay. What's up with that? Are we really that cold? Well I won't be. I refuse to be. I'm gonna do something for Brian. I've just got to figure out what...

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day Twenty-One: High above the surface of Equestria, Rainbow Dash sat on a cloud, watching the night sky. Thinking. She didn't know how to unravel her feelings. This was her world. She had grown up here. But she had also grown up on Earth. Twilight and the others were her family. But so was Daddy. Twilight was her friend. But Twilight had caused this whole mess.

Finding no answers in the starry sky, Rainbow hung her head and closed her eyes. She didn't notice that she was no longer alone until a familiar voice said "Will you be troubled if I join you?" Rainbow looked up in surprise to find a sleepy-eyed Princess Celestia sitting next to her. The Princesss yawned. "Forgive me, I'm not usually awake this early."

"P...Princess!" Rainbow stammered, rushing to turn and bow.

Celestia stopped her. "There is no need for that. I am not here as your Princess. I am here as your friend."

"With respect, I'm not sure right now if I really have any friends. I assume Twi wrote to you? I'm sorry for the things I said to her, but I just..."

"Apology accepted, though not necessary given what you are going through."

"What... What am I supposed to do Princess? How am I supposed to deal with this?"

Celestia extended a wing and draped it over Rainbow's back. "For what it's worth, I've realized I was wrong. There may be a way to set things right soon, though."

"How? A day here is a year there. Princess, he's in his sixties by now. Three weeks for me, twenty-one years for him! Another week or two here and he'll be..." Rainbow shuddered.

"Easy child..." Celestia whispered. "Things may not be as you think, though I prefer to only explain them once, to all of the elements at once."

Rainbow stared up at Celestia with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "Really? I might... I might be able to see him again?"

Celestia nodded, but said "Let us focus for now on how you are feeling towards your friends... Tell me Rainbow Dash, what do you know of Equestria's ancient history? In particular, the age prior to the beginning of my rule?"

"I didn't know there was such a time. I thought you and Princess Luna had always been around."

"Hardly. My sister and I are immortal, but not eternal."

"There's a difference?"

"Indeed... The eternal has no end or beginning. The immortal also has no end but does have a beginning."

Confusion flooded Rainbow's face. She managed only a feeble "Huh?"

Celestia chuckled. "How best to explain it? Ah! Suppose that there were two beings with you. A and B. A is eternal, and B is immortal. Now suppose you have a time machine..."

Rainbow interrupted, "Time Machine? You mean like in 'Daring Do and the Marelocks?'"

"Exactly. If you went forward in time, into the future, both A and B would always be there. You would never find a time when either of them no longer existed, no matter how far you went. But, if you went into the past... In that case, you would find the same with A. There would never be a time so long ago that the eternal wasn't there yet. But the immortal B, is a different story. At some point you would eventually find a time before B's existence."

"Princess," Rainbow began carefully, "Are you sure this is something you should be telling me?"

"Fear not. Though not common knowledge it is not a secret. Twilight herself suspects, but has not yet worked up the courage to ask me. In any case my point is, there was a time before Luna and I. A time when our mother, Queen Faust, ruled over Equestria. Oh, she was beautiful, and powerful. Stronger than Luna and I combined. But, like myself and my sister, she was immortal, not eternal, and there came a day when her maker declared that the time of her reign was at an end, and that she had to leave Equestria to us."

"I... I had no idea Princess... I'm sorry... I'm sure you must miss her."

"Indeed I do. Which is my point Rainbow Dash. I lost my mother and have not seen her for five thousand years. I lost my sister for another thousand. I make close friends like Twilight or yourself, only watch their mortality take them from me as I never age. Even dear Cadance is not immortal, though she will live far longer than normal. I know what the loss of family is. I know how you feel, and I am not coldly ignoring your feelings."

"I'm... I'm sorry I was so mad at you."

"As I've already said, it's forgiven."

Rainbow nodded, then a question occurred to her. "If you don't mind me asking... Is this why you've stayed 'Princess' Celestia and not 'Queen' Celestia? You're maybe hoping your mother will be allowed to return someday?"

Celestia nodded again. "Yes. Of course, I don't really expect it anymore. I gave up any real hope of her return after the first millennium. But I've never been able to let go of that last thread..."

Princess and Element of Harmony sat side by side in silence for several minutes, before Rainbow said "If you'll excuse me Princess, I... kind of think I need to go apologize to someone."

"Go." Celestia smiled. "I'll see you and the other bearers again later today." Dash flew away, leaving Celestia alone, but she was not alone for long. "How do you think I did?"

"Quite well sister." Luna said, nuzzling Celestia warmly. "Though, I am surprised that you didn't tell her."

"About what? My encounter with humans or mother's prophecy?"

"Both."

"Ahh... Well, as for the former, I'll be telling her along with the others later today. No reason to tell the tale twice. And as for the prophecy, well, I'd like to keep that secret just a bit longer."

"I understand, though it concerns me."

"I as well. But we must be sure..."

XXXXXXX

Just before dawn, Twilight was still awake. Having given up getting back to sleep, she made tea and sat in the library, trying to distract herself from the things Rainbow had said but failing to do so. There came a soft knock at the door, and she rushed to answer, hoping it would be the Princess with good news. Instead she found herself being tackled by Rainbow Dash, who was crying again as she blurted out "Twilight I'm so sorry for the things I said I was just angry and upset and not thinking though I guess maybe I never think really but that's not the point the point is that I know you're still my friend and that nothing could ever really change that and I said thing I shouldn't have said and I hope you can forgive me 'cause see I talked to the Princess and she said that-" Rainbow finally stopped for a breath as Twilight interrupted her.

"Rainbow! Calm down! You sound like Pinkie!"

"Heh... Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're feeling better." Twilight hugged her friend. "What exactly did she say to you anyway?"

Over tea and an early breakfast, Rainbow told Twilight everything she had been feeling, and all that Celestia had told her. "So, I guess we'll all be here sometime later today..." Rainbow finished.

"Yeah. You should probably just crash in the guest room here until then. We both need more sleep." Twilight said. "But first... Hang on, I've got something for you!" She trotted out of the room, leaving Rainbow confused. A couple of minutes later, Rainbow heard Twilight's hooves on the floor as she returned, saying "You had this with you when we came back. Celestia had to leave before I could ask her about it, so I stored it away in the basement." Twilight came into view, levitating a familiar object...

"My shoebox!" Dash exclaimed. "I've been so busy being mad I didn't even remember it!"

Twilight sat the box down on the table between them. "What's in it anyway?"

Rainbow looked at her friend in undisguised shock. "Wait a minute. Are you telling me that you, Twilight freakin' Sparkle, had a 'mystery box from another world' in your possession and you didn't open it!?" She broke into open laughter. "What is the world coming to?"

"Ha. Ha." Twilight deadpanned. "Very funny. I'm not gonna open a friend's stuff."

Rainbow stared at her.

"Okay okay, I was tempted... Badly... But I didn't do it!"

Rainbow laughed again. "Fair enough... Here, take a look..." She opened the box and started going through it's contents, explaining them to Twilight as she went...


	5. Chapter 5

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Five

Equestria: Day Twenty-One: Just after lunchtime the Elements of Harmony were gathered together in Twilight's library home, awaiting the arrival of their princess. Rainbow Dash was perhaps the most excited, barely able to contain herself at the prospect of being able to return to Earth, even if she knew nothing about the details of how such a thing was to be accomplished.

The remaining elements were less enthusiastic. While they were delighted to see their long-time friend so happy again, the explanation she had given them of what Celestia told her gave most of them pause. "But after everything we went through to recover you dear..." Rarity began, "To have you just go back there..."

"I know Rares." Rainbow answered. "But, do you really think the Princess would just let me go back to stay? I bet it's some kind of thing for going back and forth at will!"

"Something like that." Twilight said.

Everypony turned to stare at her. "Wait a minute... What do you know!?" Pinky exclaimed. She pulled a lighted electric lamp from... somewhere... and held it over Twilight's head. "Talk! Talk or it's curtains for ya' Mugsie!"

Applejack swatted the lamp away "Yeesh Pinky! Ah' think that's a' bit much!"

"She's right though." Twilight said, "But I'm not telling you anything until the Princess gets here."

"Aww..." Rainbow started to complain, but she was cut off by the arrival of Celestia and Luna.

The Element-bearers bowed, but Celestia motioned for them to rise as she and her sister took seats among them. "Let us begin..." Celestia said. "I presume that Rainbow Dash has told the rest of you what I told her of last night...?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes Princess."

"Good. Now then, the first thing I would like to explain to you all is why I was, initially, so adamantly against contact with humans... Long ago, in the days shortly after our mother Queen Faust abdicated her throne, I was feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of leadership..."

"You!?" Twilight exclaimed, "But Princess you're a wonderful ruler!"

"Now, perhaps, I do well." Celestia chuckled. "But this was five thousand years ago my student. I was young, inexperienced, and on my own as Luna was still too young to take up her own half of the royal duties."

"Indeed." Luna confirmed. "At that time mine own power was still no greater than that of an average unicorn. Tia was quite burdened."

Celestia continued "Yes... So I sought some way to have an opportunity to rest and relax between my obligations. I found a spell which would allow me to journey to and from a world where the flow of time was different from our own. I could take days, even weeks, to recover myself and return to find only minutes had passed here."

Rainbow gasped. "You'd been to Earth before!?"

Nodding, Celestia explained "Many hundreds of thousands of years ago, by Earth time. I met primitive cave-dwelling humans. Indeed, I even made a few friends among the few that would trust me. But most would not trust me. They were violent, savage, dangerous. They killed each other and tried to kill me... In time, I grew more confident in my duties and stopped traveling to Earth regularly. However, I did continue to, well, look in on them once every thousand years of their time. And while they grew in knowledge and power, they remained violent and warlike."

Celestia looked straight at Rainbow Dash. "I feared for you, when I learned that was the world you were on. I fully expected to find you had been killed..."

"So that's why you didn't want us to have contact with humans?" Rainbow asked, "But, you saw how much he loved me, how much he had done for me..."

"Yes. As I said, I had a few friends among humans long ago. I know they are not all evil. But, in order to understand why I wanted no contact you must look at things from the tactical perspective."

"The what?"

Luna took over here, "A day here. A year there. Humans often warlike and aggressive. What would happen if they learned to travel between worlds, and made war against Equestria? We would win at first, certainly. Magic alone would guarantee that. But each battle would weaken us a little, and even if they were weakened more they would have longer to recover. They could attack us each day, then return to Earth and recover for a year to attack again, the next day by our time, back to full strength while we were still weakened... In the end, they would wear us down."

The Element-bearers looked at each other uneasily. Even Dash was disturbed by the idea. Celestia said "Oh course, there is no guarantee that this would happen. Humans might be willing to make peaceful contact, especially now that they have grown more advanced. But it was a risk that we could not take."

Applejack asked "Princess, yer sayin' that in th' past-tense. What's changed?"

"With the exception of Rainbow Dash who was still unconscious, you may all remember that when we returned to Equestria I was called away almost immediately?"

"Yeah I remember!" Pinkie exclaimed, "You thought it was weird because the astronomers usually call Princess Luna instead of you!"

Celestia smiled at Pinkie's exuberance. "Indeed. As it turns out they had called us both. Certain magical instruments had detected changes within the bleed."

"The what?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight answered "In, erm, non-'egghead' terms the bleed is like the empty whitespace that lies in between alternate realities and keeps them separate from each other. It's called the bleed because, while empty in and of itself, waste energy often 'bleeds over' into it from the surrounding worlds. Our trips to and from Earth actually, speaking eleven-dimensionally, jumped 'over' the bleed rather than passing through it: It's not believed possible for living things to survive there."

"Correct." Luna answered. "We monitor the bleed for changes, since they often portend dangerous events in the near future. So when the Royal Astronomers detected a sudden alteration in the chronal radiations passing through the bleed they were concerned. Fortunately, this time it turned out to have a non-threatening cause."

"And that was?" Fluttershy whispered out her question, "If you don't mind me asking...?"

"As Luna said it was chronal radiation... Time energy. The speed-of-time variance between Equestria and Earth is fading. A day here is no longer a year there. Not even close, in point of fact, and it now appears that the two worlds will soon be in sync with each other temporally."

A wide smile spread across Rainbow Dash's face. "So, how long...?"

"It has still been longer there than here, seeing as the change has occurred slowly rather than all at once. I cannot be certain of an exact number, but... Three months there, perhaps four. No more."

While Rainbow Dash was ecstatic, Twilight was worried. "Princess, did we cause this somehow? Should we be worried that it could have bad effects on Equstria?"

The Princess answered "I doubt that we caused it. If that were the case, it would have happened long ago, considering how many times I've visited Earth myself. As for dangers, if something bad was going to happen as a direct result of these events it would have by now."

"Your student's question still has merit Tia." Luna said. "Even if it is not our doing, the timing of this change cannot be coincidental. Though I admit I can see no clear causal connection."

Everyone was quiet at that thought for some time before Rainbow said "So, let me see if I have this right: Same speed of time in both worlds, no reason to fear humans taking advantage of the faster time speed to attack us, I can at least go back to visit. That about right?"

"Twilight?" Celstia asked.

"On the Princess' orders, I've been working with mages and scientists in Canterlot on a way to build a portal machine that uses the power of the spell we used to come find you to open a gate between worlds. It's not quite finished yet, but it will be soon."

"With the time difference removed, I am not averse to -very carefully- beginning to find lines of contact between our worlds. If it can be done peacefully it would be a great boon to both Earth and Equestria." Celestia paused before adding "You already have a connection Rainbow Dash. Quite aside from your familial connection, it would be foolish to waste it."

"Yes!" Dash exclaimed, "Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

Chuckling, Celestia said "You are quite welcome my little pony."

"So when can I go?"

Twilight answered "The gate itself is in Canterlot. It'll be about a week before it's up and running. I'm actually leaving tomorrow to oversee the final stage of construction."

" A week? Can't we do this sooner? How about the regular spell?" Rainbow favored Twilight with sad eyes.

"Well... If it's okay with the Princesses I guess. Not until tomorrow though, I've got something else to prepare for you first."

Before Dash could even ask, Celestia said "Well, if the Elements are needed I could always retrieve you at any time... Very well Rainbow Dash. I will agree to this. Twilight may cast the spell and return you to Earth for a time tomorrow..."

XXXXXXX

Equestria: Day Twenty-Two: Rainbow Dash arrived in Ponyville to find all of her friends waiting. "Are you sure you want to do this now?" Twilight asked, "Instead of waiting for the gate to be finished?"

"Yeah, Ahm not to proud 'ta say this worries me a mite... You bein' all alone over there."

"Come on A.J.! I was there for fifteen years! This is gonna send me back to Dad's house right?"

Twilight nodded. "Maybe not inside the house, but on the property for certain."

"See? I'll be fine!"

Hopping around Pinkie added "And you heard the Princess! If we need her she can be bought right back!"

Putting a forehoof on Applejack's shoulder, Dash said "It's only a week A.J. Then we'll be able to come and go as we please."

"Ah guess so." Applejack managed a small smile.

Twilight walked over to where Rainbow was standing, and levitated an odd necklace out of her saddlebags and around Rainbow's neck. "Don't lose this." She said.

Dash eyed the necklace, which was a mix of metal and crystal with a large red button on it. "What is it?"

"An instant-recall." Twilight answered. "Push and hold the button for three seconds and it will automatically bring itself, you, and anything and anyone directly touching you back to Equestria."

"Sweet! Like an emergency exit!"

"Exactly. But listen carefully: It's attuned to the gate we're building, NOT the spell I'm about to use, so it won't work at all until the gate is online."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Got it."

"Good, so... If you're ready..."

"Yeah. Let's do this."

Five ponies quickly piled in around Rainbow Dash, hugging her tightly until she could barely breathe before letting go and stepping back. Twilight focused her mind; This spell was effortless for an alicorn, for her it was exhausting. The reason for the gate machine, really. She focused, formed the spell matrix, and released it towards the waiting Rainbow Dash, who vanished in a swirl of magical energies...

XXXXXXX

The Bleed. A endless white emptiness of fifth-dimensional something that lies in the in-between. As Twilight Sparkle had explained to her friends, this was a place where, according to all Equestrian knowledge, nothing could live. In spite of that certainty, two very much alive entities watched the events on Equestria and Earth with great interest.

"Ha!" One of them said to the other, "You owe me!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Our bet of course."

"Ahh my dear, surely even you can see the technicality."

"Oh, what? Because Brian Dashel isn't at his home anymore? You're actually going to argue that because Rainbow Dash hasn't actually contacted her adoptive father yet, that this invalidates our bet? That's pathetic even for you, she will find him, it's just a matter of time now."

"Oh, almost certainly." The second entity agreed. "Honestly, if I _did _decide to argue that point I would be in the right for now, though I don't intend to. I actually agree with you that, now that she's back on Earth, it's only a matter of time."

"Then what...?"

A sigh echoed through the void. "Look at the precise wording of our bet. I argued that, and I quote, 'Rainbow Dash will not be able to overcome Celestia's resistance to her reuniting with her father.' But the thing of it is, dear Celly surprised us both by_ not_ resisting it! That means that the conditions of the bet, and by extension the bet itself, are invalidated! I owe you nothing."

"You and your loopholes... Though I can't deny the validity of the logic. Very well."

The entities resumed their observations. After a time one asked "You are still worried, aren't you?"

"You are not? You understand the stakes for both of these worlds."

"What concerns me is that it had to come to this at all. This connection should have been made long ages ago."

"Celestia's concerns were understandable, even if they led her to make a great error."

"I suppose so... Oh, look! Something funny's about to happen!" The entities focused their attention on the Dashel home...


	6. Chapter 6

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Six

Earth: Day One Hundred: Arriving at work early in the morning, Miri walked swiftly as she searched all through the busy store, hoping to catch sight of Brian. She knew he had taken time off after their confrontation and had decided it was best to wait until he returned before speaking with him. But today was the day he was supposed to be back, and she wanted to find him as soon as possible. She was still worried about his mental state, but she was also desperate to apologize to him for the way she had reacted upon finding the photo album, desperate to let him know that she still loved him and wanted to make things work out between them.

But as she searched everywhere, all over the sales floor and the stockroom, it quickly became obvious that he was not there. She asked several friends among her fellow employees, but none of them knew anything. So she found herself knocking on the door of the manager's office. "Come in!" A voice called from within, and she opened the door and stepped through. Within was the current day supervisor, a balding, slightly heavyset man in an ill fitting suit and tie. "Miri! You're here early today... What can I do for you?"

"Well, I'm looking for... ...Brian was supposed to be back today wasn't he?"

The manager's face fell. "He didn't tell you?"

"I've not seen or spoken with him since he took the leave... Told me what?"

"Miri, Brian called last week... Said something had happened and he wasn't coming back."

"What!?" Miri exclaimed. "No no no this is all my fault..."

"Now, don't be too hard on yourself. I may not know what exactly happened between you, but I can't imagine you of all people could have done anything bad enough to make Brian up and leave for good. It must have been something else dear."

"No, No it was me..." Miri looked her boss in the eyes. "I'm sorry, if this costs me my job then so be it, but I can't stay for work today, I've got to go, I've got to... I don't know, but I've got to do something."

The manager smiled. "Don't worry about your job, at least for today, you're one of the best workers I've got. Brian too. I'll put this down as a sick day. Good luck kiddo."

Miri smiled in surprise and gratitude. "Thanks. I'll come back with him."

"I hope you do."

XXXXXXX

Falling... The sensation of falling in a void, falling forever with no place to land. Rainbow Dash felt her stomach churn with the sensation of freefall, a surprise for the great stunt flier who was accustomed to the sensation from a great many of her trick maneuvers and didn't usually get even the slightest bit queasy from them. Perhaps this was from how long the sensation was continuing. In any event, she made a note in her mind to discuss it with Twilight. No one would want to use this kind of travel regularly if nothing could be done about the nausea.

Even as she was thinking these thoughts, Rainbow Dash felt a change ripple through the void, and the next moment a bright pinpoint of light flared into view far in the distance and surged towards her. She was enveloped in the light... ...And found herself in a forest, the bright-blue early morning sky shining down through the early-spring leaves overhead. Glancing around, the cyan pegasus realized that she knew this forest. It was on the outer edge of her father's property, perhaps a quarter of a mile north of their home.

Rainbow laughed out loud. She did it! Well, Twilight did it, really, but screw technicalities, she was home! Home! She ran swiftly through the trees until she reached the edge of the back yard. Once there, she was surprised to see that little care had been taken. Of course, she had been gone over the late autumn and winter, so not much had happened, but the lawn clearly hadn't been tended to in some time, perhaps even since her departure. "Yeesh Pops, I know mowing the yard was my job, but you could've gotten someone else to do it." Spreading her wings, Rainbow flew into a treetop, the better to get a look over the tall grass.

The house looked unchanged. Not that it should have changed, in the short time she was gone, but to see it there still put a lump in her throat. "Home." She thought again. Just as Dash was about to take wing and fly over the yard, though, her ears picked up the sound of a vehicle approaching. She watched as an unfamiliar car, cherry red with dark-tinted windows, pulled around to the back door. A human emerged, female Dash thought though she couldn't be certain at such a distance. The woman walked to the back door and knocked repeatedly. There was no answer.

"Duh, of course not." Rainbow thought, "It's morning, probably a weekday, Dad's at work right now." But then, the pegasus was surprised to see the human open the door and let herself into the house. Dash's eyes narrowed. "Thief!" She thought. "Well, we'll just see about that..."

XXXXXXX

Port Timbrey. Brian Dashell drove through the streets of the city, amazed at just how much had changed in the years since he and Dash had moved away. He knew, of course, that a major manufacturing firm had built a new factory over the ruins of his old neighborhood. They were the ones who had purchased the land his parent's old home was built on. That house was gone, along with the street it had been on, the land covered by the huge factory that had revitalized the city's economy.

Driving about the roads, as close as he could get to where his old neighborhood had been, Brian was surprised to discover that the old park, the one he had played in as a child, the one he had taken Dash to as a filly, was still there, nestled in between a pair of large industrial structures. In fact, it was clear it had been rebuilt and revitalized, presumably by the incoming company as a part of their promise to help out the city. Not that anyone would bother coming to a park in the midst of a heavy industrial zone, of course; No one was present. But he supposed the thought was nice.

Brian parked and locked up his car, going for a stroll through the grounds, feeling the memories pressing in upon him. The happy childhood with his parents, the fun times with Dashie... He slumped down onto a park bench and sighed. Why had he come back here? What was left for him in the city? No home, no job, friends he hadn't contacted in years... Though, friends were a place to start he supposed. At the least he could reconnect. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number he barely remembered. "Hey man, I'm in town... Wanna get together?"

XXXXXXX

"Brian?" Miri called out as she stepped into the kitchen of his home. She flipped on the lights, only to see very quickly that he hadn't been here in some time. A thin layer of dust had settled over everything. She saw an envelope on the kitchen table, and stepping closer saw that it had her name written on it in Brian's handwriting. Tearing it open, she opened the letter inside and began to read:

"Miri:

I'm so sorry for what has happened. I never meant to hurt you. In fact, I love you very much, and had hoped that you and I could build a life together. I keep thinking, If only you hadn't found the album, but that's not right of me. Relationships are built on truth, after all, and keeping it from you would have been a violation of that truth.

Please understand that I do not, in any way, blame you for thinking that I am crazy. If our situations were reversed, it is the conclusion I would reach as well. I mean, really, a cartoon character come to life? How could anyone sane believe something like that?

And yet, I have to be honest to you, and the honest truth is that it did happen. I found her more than fifteen years ago, as a filly too young to even talk yet. I took her in, raised her, loved her as my own daughter until last September when Celestia and her friends came to take her home. The story I told you about my daughter was technically true; I just left out the details.

In any case, I know you cannot believe me, and I cannot blame you for that. So I'm saving us both the trouble of dealing with this. I'm leaving, and I do not intend to return. I don't know where I'm going, I'll figure something out. Goodbye Miri. I wish you the best in whatever you desire in life.

Love, Brian.

Eyes full of tears, Miri held onto the letter as she resisted the urge to break down into tears completely. It took several minutes, but she managed to contain it. Now filled with a sense of determination, Miri decided to search the house for whatever signs she could find of where Brian might have gone to. She had to find him. She had to help him...

As Miri was beginning to explore the house, Rainbow Dash crept up to the back door. She stood to the side, trying to emulate the motions she had seen in countless police dramas. Holding close to the wall, Rainbow waited several moments, then jumped through the door to find the kitchen empty. She crept as silently as she could through the kitchen and into the dining room and then the living room. Everything looked as it should. "Strange... What kind of burglar breaks in and and doesn't take anything?"

Following in Miri's path, Dash ascended the stairs silently and found the first bedroom door open, but the room itself was empty. She continued down the hall, past the vacant bathroom, to her own room. She peered in. All of her belongings were gone, as she expected from Celestia's spell. There was a bland home-office in it's place. And it wasn't vacant. The burglar was there, her back to the door, going through the contents of a desk drawer.

"Gotcha!" Dash thought to herself. She grabbed the door and pulled it shut.

Miri spun around in shock as the door slammed shut behind her. She jumped up and ran to it, trying to pull it open, but someone was holding it closed from the other side. Someone strong. "Hello? Who's there?" She shouted.

From beyond the door a female voice answered "Who are you? What are you doing in my Dad's house?"

"Your dad...?" Miri said, shocked, "Wait! Are, are you Brian Dashell's adopted daughter!?"

"Yeah that's right! How do you know him!?"

"Okay, please listen, my name is Miri. I worked at the store with your father. He told me about how he raised you, until your real family came back for you!"

Dash was surprised. "He... Told you about me?"

"Well, we were dating, getting pretty close really... Listen, I need to tell you something important, it's about why Brian isn't here. You remember he liked MLP right? Well, after you left, I guess he couldn't handle it... He convinced himself that his adopted daughter had been Rainbow Dash from the show... He even had an album full of photoshopped pictures of himself with her. I found it, we had a fight, and now he's gone and I need to find him because I love him anyway and just wanna help him!"

Listening from her side of the door, Rainbow Dash was uncertain at first what to do. She was angry at this Miri for not believing her father, but then again she knew it only made sense. It actually sounded like this woman cared for him. A girlfriend, cute one too from what Dash had seen before she slammed the door. "Nice goin' pops." she thought. But what to do now? Daddy was gone, and she had to find him. And it sounded like Miri wanted to find him as well. She reached a decision.

Miri waited. There was silence from the other side of the door for some time. Finally the girl said "Look, with what you've told me, you and me need to talk face to face. So, let me ask you a question: If I let go of this door, can I trust you to not open it until I say okay? I need a minute to get back, turn on some lights."

"I promise." Miri answered. "I'll wait for your okay."

"Alright, hang on I just need a couple minutes." Miri waited, listening carefully. For some time she thought that the girl must still be hanging onto the door; She had heard no footsteps. But then there was brighter light under the door, which she knew had to be coming from the lamps in the loft room across the hall from the office. Another minute and the girl's voice said "Okay, I'm in the loft, come on in."

Miri opened the door cautiously and stepped out into the hall. She could see the loft, but no one was visible. Apparently the girl was seated in the lounge chair that was facing away, and she must be rather short since Miri couldn't see the top of her head. She boldly walked into the room and around the chair, saying "I hope we can work together to figure out where Brian has gone-" She stopped as the occupant of the chair came into sight. Rainbow Dash was seated in the chair, staring up at her. Her jaw dropped open, and she just stared in disbelief. Human and pony stared at each other for some time, and then Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and asked "So, are you still questioning my Father's mental state?"

Author's Notes: First, Pinkie Pie fans stay tuned for the next chapter. She's got a scene in it I think you'll enjoy. Second, as of this point I'll be discontinuing the "dating from Dash's return to Equestria" aspect since there's no longer two distinct lines on each world, and the times are synchronized anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Seven

Earth: Miri Larson stood in the upstairs loft of Brian Dashell's home, staring at the pony seated in front of her. Cyan coat, rainbow mane, perhaps three and a half feet tall. Solid three-dimensional flesh and blood rather than a cartoon. But undeniably Rainbow Dash. Which meant, of course, that she had done even more wrong by Brian than she had realized. Not that she could really think about that right now, with a fictional character come to life in front of her, all she could do was stare, mouth agape. Finally Rainbow raised one eyebrow and asked "So, are you still questioning my father's mental state?"

"...No... ...Though my own is currently up for debate..."

Dash laughed. "Okay, yeah, I get it. This can't be easy for you, meeting someone who you thought was fictional. Though, if you think this is hard, sometime you should try finding out that _you're_ supposed to be the fictional one. Heh, I didn't handle it so well..." She stopped as Miri started to reach out as if to touch her, then pulled her hand back. "Hey, go ahead."

"Oh, I don't know if I should..."

"Nah, it's okay... I mean, it sounds like we both wanna find my dad and get him back here right? We should work together, and that's not gonna happen unless you know I'm really here. Go ahead."

Miri reached out, ran her fingers lightly over Rainbow's soft coat, then brushed against her feathery wings. It was the latter that finally drove the reality of the situation home to her. Maybe, _maybe_, a hallucination could be tactile as well as visual and audial. But for the feathers to have a distinct feel from the fur, that was going too far for such a thing. Which meant... "You're real." Miri muttered, slumping to the ground on her rear. "I mean, you, you're really... real. You're real and you're sitting here right in front of me and you're real and Brian wasn't nuts and oh God what have I done!?" She buried her head between her knees.

Rainbow stepped down out of the chair and approached Miri. "Hey, hey, it's okay... ...Wait, what exactly did you do anyway?"

"I um, I found the photo album. The one with the pictures of you and Brian in it. I thought they were just like, photoshops or something. We had a big argument and I walked out. And now he's gone."

"Okay, gone where?"

Shaking her head, Miri said "I don't know. He had taken leave from work, so I didn't know he had even left until he was supposed to come back today and didn't." She realized she was still holding Brian's note and handed it over to Dash. "I found this when I came in the back door."

After taking the note and reading it, Dash said "Well... ...Horseapples. I guess we gotta go find him then."

"Yeah, but how? Find him where? I mean, it sounds like he didn't even know where he was going, he could be anywhere by now!"

"He could, sure, but..."

I glimmer of hope returned to Miri's eyes. "You've got an idea?"

"Maybe. Y'know, other than here, Port Timbrey's the only place dad's ever lived. Born and raised there and all... Seems like a good enough place to start anyways."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I mean we've got to start somewhere." Miri smiled. "Oh, but we... you... How...?"

"How will I get there?" Rainbow asked. "Unless I'm mistaken that car of yours has tinted windows. No one'll see me."

"So what you're saying is..."

"...Roadtrip!" Rainbow finished Miri's question, pumping her front hooves in the air.

Laughing, Miri said "Before you slammed the door shut on me, I was searching the office for anything that might be useful. Should we finish that up first?"

"I dunno..." Dash said, "That office is actually a fake, see, that was my bedroom. The Princess destroyed all evidence that I had been here when she took me back, except for the photos."

"The Princess? Wait, Celestia? Wow, I... What exactly happened anyway?"

"Now that's a long story... I'll tell you all about once we're on the road."

"Let's get going then." Miri said, "It's a long trip to the city..."

XXXXXXX

Port Timbrey. Brian took a deep breath and stepped from the brightly sunlit day outside into the darkness of the old pub. This place had been a favored hang out of himself and his few friends in the days before Dashie had come into his life, and he was surprised to find out that it was still here, and that many of his old crowd still frequented it even after all these years.

As he walked through the door a voice called out to him. Following it, he made his way to a table where the friends he had called earlier were all gathered. "Wow, you really are back." Said Thomas, a tall caucasian man with a shock of bright red hair. Seated next to him was his off again on again girlfriend Sara, whose raven black hair cascaded down past her hips. Brian slid into the booth across from Thomas, which put him next to Solomon, a heavyset black man in jeans and a sweater.

"Where the hell have you been man?" Solomon asked. "I ain't complainin' about you moving out of town, I woulda done the same back then if I could've. But not even a call or a text for all these years?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry." Brian answered. I've just been... busy."

"Well you're here now." Thomas said, "And we're gonna have fun today right?"

"As long as your idea of 'fun' isn't still getting plastered."

"Oh it's not." Sara said. "Tommy's not done that since, well..." She held out her right hand, which bore a wedding ring."

"No kidding!? You two finally?" Brian laughed.

"Shocked me too, after so long." Sara said. "But it's been three years now."

"Well, it's late but congrats. Any kids yet?"

"Thomas nearly choked. "K...kids!? No way, not yet not ever."

"Oh, you say that now but she'll change your mind." Solomon laughed. "Jessie changed mine after all. I wouldn't let it go now for anything."

Recovering, Thomas stared at Brian and said "Well so long as we're embarrassing each other, Brian, you still watchin' that horse and pony show?"

"What's wrong with it if he is?" Solomon challenged. "I've seen quite a few of those with my daughters, it's really not a bad show."

"No." Brian answered. "I'm not watching it anymore."

"Awfully glum over a cartoon." Sara said. "What's wrong?"

Brian shook his head. "It's a long story I don't really want to talk about. Suffice to say that while Sol is right about not wanting to let family go, sometimes life doesn't leave you a choice."

"Okay..." Thomas mused, "Moving on to happier conversations, let's get started on our plans for the day okay? We're just burnin' daylight sitting around in here..." Together, the four friends rose and left the pub. None of them noticed that they, or one of them in particular, was being observed by a shadowy figure who watched them leave, then followed at a discreet distance.

As he followed, this man pulled his cell phone and dialed, then waited for an answer. "Boss. Listen, I've got an opportunity for us. Yeah, remember what I told you about when I joined up? Yeah, well I've found him he's back in town. You want me to what? Okay yeah that's cool, but I can't do it on my own. Alright, track my gps, I'll follow them 'til the guys arrive...

XXXXXXX

Miri drove east along the open highway, towards Port Timbrey which was still some distance away. She had been driving for two hours now, being careful to keep to the speed limit. God forbid she get pulled over with Rainbow Dash in her passenger seat, she had already cringed twice at the sight of patrol cars. Happily, both had passed her by. As she drove, she listened to Dash's tale of how she had come to be on Earth, and her life with Brian. "...And that's when I met you." The pegasus said, finishing up her story.

"So it's not just you." Miri said. "It's all real... Equestria, ponies and dragons, magic?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Well, what about the cartoon? Even accepting everything else, it's still kinda nuts that a cartoon could match up to the reality so well."

"I know. Heh, y'know, when I first found the show it freaked me out because I was afraid it meant I wasn't real. Now it freaks me out because I know it all is and how did they get such a near-perfect vision of it?"

"_Near_ perfect?" Miri asked, "They got something wrong?"

"Kinda. We're flesh and blood rather than ink, obviously... Spike's a teenager rather than a baby, Oh, and we don't break into random musical numbers all the time. Other than that it's kinda spot-on."

"Hmmm..."

Rainbow's stomach growled. "You getting hungry?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to stop. I'd like to be in the city by nightfall." Miri answered. She thought for a moment, then said "Check the glove box, I think there's a couple of protein bars."

Dash leaned forward in her seat and popped open the glove box. As soon as it was open, Pinkie Pie erupted out of the box and into the seat with Rainbow, loudly exclaiming "HI DASHIE!"

"Holy Shi-!" Miri screamed, nearly losing control of the car which swerved across multiple lanes of traffic, narrowly missing two other cars whose drivers also swerved about blowing their horns in anger.

Oblivious to the carnage and horrible disaster her arrival had nearly caused, Pinkie just kept talking to the stunned Rainbow Dash, "So I got to thinking that maybe you might be lonely without any of your friends even with your dad here because you know you didn't miss us before but that's probably just 'cause you didn't remember us before but either way I figured I'd come and give you some company and it looks like it's a good thing I did 'cause I guess you've not found him yet and by the way who's your friend here-"

"PINKIE!" Dash interrupted, "How did you get here!? Twilight said the gate wouldn't be ready for a week!"

"Oh I didn't use the gate silly filly, I came on my own!"

"On your... What!?"

"Was really hard too, took a lot out of me but that's okay 'cause here I am now and oh I almost forgot I thought you might be hungry so I bought a tray of cupcakes with me -(Here Pinkie produced said tray from behind her back, gobbled one of the treats down, then continued talking)- and it's a good thing I did 'cause lemme just tell you those protein bars in the glove box were horrible they tasted like styrofoam wrapped in cardboard and not even the good cinnamon flavored cardboard either but the yucky plain corrugated stuff but now you're all set with good food and -YAWN- oh boy the trip really did tire me out I'm gonna take a nap now okay Dashie g'night." Pinkie flopped over into the back seat, snoring instantly.

Having regained control of the car, Miri simply stared at the road in front of her as she drove. Neither she nor Dash said anything for an extended time. Finally, perhaps twenty miles further down the road, Miri finally said "So... ...Pinkie Pie..."

Dash chuckled. "Eeyup."

"Is it me, or is the whole 'came on her own' thing disturbing?"

"Oh it's not just you." Rainbow answered, "Though I hope you don't expect to ever get an answer."

"I suppose not." Miri shook her head. "Hell with it, this doesn't really change anything, we've still gotta find Brian."

"Right. Though, it does change one thing..." Rainbow turned in her seat and pulled the tray of cupcakes to the front of the car. "I'm still hungry. No sense letting these go to waste..."

XXXXXXX

Author's Note: Regarding my 'Spike is really a teenager' choice: For one thing, it just

makes sense to me. Twilight is perhaps twenty, and hatched Spike as a very young filly,

so he really should be more than a baby, even if dragons age slower than humans or ponies.

It also makes his fascination with Rarity make more sense, and maybe even gives

him an actual chance eventually.


	8. Chapter 8

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Eight

Earth, Port Timbrey: Brian had enjoyed the day with his friends immensely. A chance to reconnect with those he had lost touch with and get him mind off of the losses of Miri and Rainbow. As the sun was setting, he found himself seated on a park bench in a local amusement park, people watching as thousands of guests wandered by in differing directions.

Solomon approached and sat next to him. "I know what you're thinkin' man." He said, "Who would've thought this city would turn around so completely?"

Nodding, Brian agreed. "Yeah, back when I left there's no way a place like this could've stayed in business, let alone did this well."

"I'm curious man, would you have stayed if you'd known things were gonna get better?"

"No, I couldn't have... There were other concerns I had to take care of."

"Well, we've missed you. I'm glad you're back."

"Thanks, though I'm not sure I'm really back. I think I'll probably go traveling some more soon, y'know, see the world. I've never done that before."

Solomon favored Brian with a skeptical look. "Yeah, 'cause that's not like you. What are you runnin' from?"

Knowing that he couldn't successfully lie to his friend, Brian simply answered "Memories."

"Well I guess I can understand that some. Alright, I won't push, but if you ever wanna talk about it some more, well, let me know alright?"

"I will."

"Alright man. Well, I better be getting' home, Wife and kids all worry when I'm out late." Solomon rose and walked away towards the park entrance. Brian waited a few more minutes, then stood, stretched, and found the facilities. He didn't notice the pair of men shadowing him, nor that they took positions outside the lavatory doors and waited.

After washing his hands, Brian noticed that this particular restroom had entry doors at both ends, an unusual design but one which made sense for the design of the park. Realizing that the far door was closer to the parking lot than the one he had used, he exited that way.

Outside, the two men grew impatient with waiting and followed Brian's path into the facilities, where they found out they had made a mistake; their quarry was long gone. Cursing, one of them contacted his boss and reported what had happened. "Don't worry about it." was the reply, "I've already got men on the back-up plan..."

XXXXXXX

As Miri drove through the streets of Port Timbrey, Rainbow stared out the tinted car windows in surprise. "Wow. This doesn't look anything like it used to." She said.

"Yeah, I guess the new businesses helped out the economy a lot. So, where was your old house?"

"South side. No point in goin' that way though, the whole neighborhood was torn down after we left."

"Well, we'll go take a look in the morning anyway." Miri said. "For now, I just want to find a nice motel for the night."

"Sounds good!" Pinkie said from the back seat. "I could use a good night's sleep."

"Pinks, you've been out for four hours." Dash answered. "You only woke up like ten minutes ago!"

"Well wall-hopping really takes it out of you."

"Wall... what?"

"Never mind." Pinkie stared out the windows along with Dash, and a sign caught her eyes. "Ooh!" She exclaimed, pointing to a twenty-story building with a sign that read 'Carlton Hotel,' "How about that place!?"

Miri snorted. "No. Way. In. Hell. The Carlton? All the money I've ever made in my life _might_ pay for one night. Besides, how would I get the two of you into the room unseen? No, what we need is a cheap cockroach-ridden hole where they'll give me a hidden back room or something."

Miri drove on, out of the downtown area, into the western suburbs, finally catching sight of a promising option. She parked in front of the motel office, switched off the engine, and said "Stay. Here. I'll be right back."

Pinkie said "Why would she tell you that? You know you can't be seen."

"I think she was talking to you Pinks." Dash answered. "You're not exactly subtle."

"I know! Isn't it cool?"

After several minutes Miri returned, restarted the car, and drove around the building. "We're in luck. I told the managers I needed a nice quiet room where I wouldn't be disturbed, so they put us all the way to the back." Miri parked again, got out, unlocked the room. Then after looking around to make sure the coast was clear, she motioned for the ponies to join her.

Inside, they found a typical motel room, two beds, two lamps, a television with the remote bolted to a nightstand. The colors clashed horrifically, bright orange walls, lime green carpets, bedspreads in purple and red. "Holy schmoly!" Pinkie exclaimed. "It looks like a rainbow got sick and puked all over everything!"

"Yeah." Dash agreed. She looked over at Miri, "Be glad Rarity's not here, she'd either go into seizures or run screaming out into the night."

Miri chuckled. "It's typical cheap-motel fare. It doesn't have to look good, you've just got to be able to sleep in it." She excused herself to the bathroom.

Rainbow trotted over to the nightstand. "They bolted down the remote?" She asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh well, let's see if they've got cable I wanna check on the NASCAR circuit."

The moment Dash pushed the power button, Pinkie's head swiveled towards the television. "Ooh!"

"Yeah, pretty cool huh?" Rainbow said. "It's like radio but with movies too." She started flipping through the channels, quickly finding a sports station.

Ten minutes later Miri came back into the main room, finding the ponies focused on the T.V. As she turned down the covers on her bed she said "Don't stay up too late, we've got an early start tomorrow."

"No big, I'm done once I find out who's won the races since I left."

"Alright... G'night..." Miri was sound asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

XXXXXXX

Having lost track of Brian, the men pursuing him set their backup plan into motion. One group followed Solomon, and another went after Thomas and Sara. In each case, the quarry was struck over their heads from behind and dragged to a waiting van, then driven to an empty warehouse and tied up in chairs. It was several hours before they were all awake, confused, and scared. "What's going on?" Sara demanded. "Where are we?"

"No idea love." Thomas answered. "But we've got to find out..." He gathered his courage then shouted "Hello!? Anyone there?"

The sound of approaching footfalls echoed through the empty building, and a single man came into sight. This was the same man who had followed Brian out of the pub earlier in the day, though none of them had seen him. "Well well, you're all awake. Good."

"What's this about?"

"In point of fact it's about your friend."

"Brian? What about Brian?"

The man sighed. "Well, I guess you do at least deserve the whole story... You remember several years ago, that weird sonic boom light show thing that happened? Well, it's like this..." The man then told them a story about how, after the event, the government and military had tried and failed to determine what it was that had happened. Part of the reason they had failed was because the event created static that destroyed images from cameras in the city. A couple of years later, he had joined the army on a scholarship program. He did well in electronics, and was eventually assigned to take another look at the fried camera hard drives to see if he could reconstruct their data.

"Most of them were a total bust. But there was one, from near a little park on the south side of town, that I got an image. Your friend, running away just after the blast with somethin' tucked under his arm."

"Oh come on!" Thomas shouted. "There's no way Brian built some kind of bomb, that's not him!"

Solomon added "And besides, why would the army grab us instead of just going after Brian? And why wait all this time?"

With a predatory grin the man said "Never said I was still army. See, I was never the most dedicated soldier, all I wanted was the money and experience. When I found that image, I knew it was more lucrative to me to keep it to myself. So I made a copy of my own, then destroyed the original, told my superiors I didn't find anything. Waited 'til I was discharged, took the info straight to the boss of this town, Don Calamari."

"Great, we're in it with the mob now..." Thomas lamented.

"It's not so bad. We'll let's ya live so long as you help us get this Brian and keep yer mouths shut. See, we couldn't find him. I guess he musta left town. Didn't know he was back 'til I saw him at the pub."

"And now you want us to betray our friend?" Sara scoffed.

"You got it babe. No rush, think it over, talk it over, I'll be back in a few hours... With a guy named Needles in case you still say no. He's well named, Needles..." And with the threat still in the air, the mystery man walked away...

XXXXXXX

Miri woke early the next morning to the sound of music. "WHO LIVES IN A PINEAPPLE UNDER THE SEA!" Boomed the television. Pinkie, seated on the other bed next to a sleeping Rainbow Dash, was riveted to the screen.

"Ugh... Did you never sleep?"

"Oh, sure for awhile!" The pink pony answered. "Then I woke up and figured this thing out and found the coolest thing ever!" She gleefully exclaimed.

"Blurgh..." Rainbow grumbled. "It's too early Pinkie..." Her ears swiveled to face the television. "Oh wow you found Spongebob! I loved that show when I was a filly."

"Yes!" Pinkie exclaimed, hopping up and down, "Spongebob is awesome! I'd love to go there and throw an 'Under The Sea' theme party!"

"Um, Pinkie, Spongebob isn't actually real-" Miri stopped, realizing who she was talking to. "Nevermind."

"Hard to be sure isn't it?" Dash asked. "Though, knowing Pinkie, I wouldn't put it past her to get there even if it is just a story."

Miri simply shook her head. "I'm gonna need counseling before this is all over, I just know it." Pulling on her shoes, she said "Wait here, I saw a donut shop across the street, I'll go get us breakfast then we'll head to the park..."

An hour later, everyone cleaned, fed, and caffeinated (well, no caffeine for Pinkie, that would be apocalyptic) they drove to the south side of the city, and found the old park. Miri and Rainbow got out, admonishing Pinkie to stay put until they returned. Unwilling to take any risk, Miri got a Pinkie promise out of her to that effect.

"They repaired everything." Dash said, looking around. "Oh, hey, look here!" She flew over to a large oak tree. "This is where I learned to fly!"

"That's cool." Miri looked around. "No Brian though... Dash, we've not thought this through... How will we find Brian even if he is in town? It's a big city, and it's not like we can send up a sign saying 'Hey Brian, here we are!'"

A grin spread across Rainbow's face. "Maybe we can... Wait here, I'll be right back." Before Miri could stop her, Rainbow spread er wings and rocketed into the skies over the city, flying in ever fast circles higher and higher. Then she dived, straight down, at incredible velocities until...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Miri's jaw dropped open at the spectacle of rainbow rings spreading through the sky above her. Rainbow returned moments later and landed next to her. "Only other time I did one on earth was right here. If Dad's in town, he'll know. He'll come. All we do now is wait."

And wait they did, for nearly an hour, before a car familiar to both of them appeared around a bend and drove towards another parking lot on the far side of the small park. Miri running, Dash flying, they rushed across the park.

Brian parked and got out of his car. He still wasn't sure what to expect. He knew what he had seen, what it had to mean. But how could she be back? Was he just imagining things now? Surely- A voice sounded behind him. "Dad!" He turned just in time to be bowled over by his daughter crashing into his chest and wrapping her forelegs around him. Crying now, Brian returned the hug.

"Dashie! Dashie I'm so glad to see you but how...?"

"It's a long story."

"I've missed you so much..."

"I missed you too dad. And I'm not the only one, either." Rainbow looked over her shoulder and Brian followed her gaze... ...to Miri.

Getting back to his feet, releasing Rainbow who continued to hover close by his side, he approached her. He was still crying, and he could see that Miri was as well. "Brian..." She said, "Brian, I am so sorry-" Brian cut her off, grabbing her close and kissing her deeply.

"Way to go Pops." Rainbow chuckled.


	9. Chapter 9

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Nine

Port Timbrey. As Brian walked Miri back to her car, they talked about all that had happened over the last few months. Miri was still stumbling over herself with apologies, which Brian deflected with good grace. "For the last time Miri," He said, "I meant what I wrote in the letter I left for you! Of course you didn't believe it was true, no one would have!"

"Well, yeah, but..."

"You were worried about me, that's all. And then I didn't handle things very well either, and you responded the way you should have, again, the way anyone would have, and things just piled on from there."

"I know you're right. But I still feel terrible." Miri whispered. She glance to Dash flying overhead. "What about you? I know you've gotta still be a little mad at me."

"Nah, Dad's right. Who would have believed this? Heck, it's really no different than poor Lyra back home, telling people that humans exist. Lemme tell you, I found out after my memories came back that every one of my friends had apologized to her after we got back to Equestria." A pained expression crossed her face. "Oh shoot. I never got around to it myself."

"Wait, that's true then!?" Miri exclaimed. "The whole 'Lyra and humans' thing?"

"Oh yeah, and like I said nopony buys it. She's mocked by believers in Bighoof."

"Bighoof?" Brian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah... Kinda like bigfoot only with hooves. Saddlesquatch."

Brian and Miri both broke into open laughter.

They were still laughing lightly as the rounded the corner of a shelter building and came into sight of Miri's car. As soon as they saw the car, a pink head popped out the passenger-side window and waved, ecstatically shouting "HI DASHIE'S DAD!"

"You brought Pinkie Pie?"

Dash clapped her forehooves together. "'Brought' is a strong word..."

"What?"

"She jumped out of my freakin' glove box!" Miri shouted.

Brian stared at Miri for several moments, then they both said, together, "Pinkie Pie."

The Pink pony came bounding over to where they stood. "Hi there I'm Pinkie Pie but you already knew that plus we have met before but just that once and it was a sad day and I'm really sorry for it all but everything's okay now so maybe we should all go back to your place and we could throw a 'Happy Reunion' party or a 'Welcome to Earth' party though I guess it would really be a 'Welcome _Back_ to Earth' party since we've both been here before and-" Rainbow slammed a hoof down over Pinkie's mouth.

"They get the idea Pinks. Besides, any parties should probably wait until Twilight gets the gate up and running."

"Wait, what gate?" Brian asked.

"Long story short," Rainbow explained, "The Princess has decided that maybe contact between worlds isn't such a bad idea after all. Twi's helping build this gate thing that'll let ponies and humans come and go."

"Wow... That's gonna change everything."

"Eventually. They plan to take it slow though."

"Probably for the best." Brian started to say, but before he could speak his cell phone began to ring. "Hello?"

"Brian Dashell." An unfamiliar voice spoke.

"Who is this?"

"No one you know. But someone you're gonna know real well. That is, if you wants your friends 'ta live through the day."

"What? Who is this? What's this about!?"

"Here." The voice said, "I'll let them explain it to you."

There was a sound of movement on the other end of the line, and then a new voice came on, one Brian recognized. "Brian?"

"Solomon? What's going on here?"

"It's the mob Brian. They've got all three of us here tied up. They think that you have something to do with that big rainbow explosion years ago, think it was a bomb or somethin'. We tried telling them you'd never build a bomb, but, well after you come back to town yesterday and there's another one of those blasts today... Man, what's going on?"

Brian didn't get a chance to answer before the original voice came back on. "Here's the deal: You work for us, your friends live. Come to the corner of Park and Valor in one hour. We'll be waiting." The line went dead.

"Brian...?" Miri asked.

"Pops, what's wrong?" Dash echoed. Both could see the look of concern on his face.

Brian explained the contents of the conversation to them. "I've got to go." Brian said. He took off running back towards where he had parked. Miri, Dash, and Pinkie followed.

"Hey, wait up!"

"You can't do this alone!"

"I have to do it alone! These are my friends so I can't ignore it, and I'm not putting you two in danger!" Reaching his car, Brian opened the driver's door to get in.

Miri jumped onto the hood of Brian's car. "Oh no, I'm not letting you go alone!"

"Miri please."

"No!"

"Dashie, help me out here!"

"Sorry Pops, I'm with her on this one."

Brian fixed them both with a withering stare. "This. Is. The. Mob." He said. "We've all had it if we all go in."

"Yeah!" Pinkie said, popping up out from behind Brian, wearing a fedora and grey flannel suit she had procured from who-knows-where. "They'll be all like, "It's curtains for 'ya Mugsie!" and then they'll fill you full of lead and put you in cement shoes and bury you next to Johnny da Snitch!"

Everyone stared at Pinkie. "'Johnny da Snitch?'" three voices asked at once.

Pinkie frowned. "It sounded like a mob name."

Miri asked "Look, Brian, you've got an hour to be there. How long a drive is it from here?"

"Ten minutes tops."

"Then we've got forty minutes to come up with a plan." Dash said. "Heads together..."

XXXXXXX

Fifty minutes later, Brian drove along the streets towards the location he had been given. Miri rode beside him, to his discomfort. "It'll be okay Bri." She said. "Just stick to the story. I'm you bomb making assistant, you need me to get the most out of the design."

"I still can't believe I'm driving you into this."

"Chill. Dash and Pinkie will do their parts and we'll all be out of this soon enough."

The plan was straightforward: Brian, with Miri posing as his assistant, would go to the Mob and pretend to agree to build the 'rainbow bombs' in exchange for insisting on seeing that his friends were safe with their own eyes. Once the hostages were freed, they would act like they were going to work, stalling for time. Meanwhile, Dash, following them from the air, would sneak into whatever building they were in through the roof. Pinkie, able to go between worlds on her own, would return to Equestria and let Twilight know that the gate needed to be turned on, like, right now. Dash would get to Brian and Miri, and activate the recall necklace Twilight had given her, whisking the three of them back to safety in Canterlot. From there, they would return to Earth and usher Brian's friends away to safety before they could be targeted in retribution.

"I hope so." Brian said. "There's so many ways this could go wrong. Not the least of them being it's reliance on Pinkie."

"Just keep praying and hoping." Miri said. "It'll all work out."

"I hope so." Brian repeated. "Because here we are." He pulled into a parking space and switched off the engine. They both got out, and saw a group of men approaching.

"Five minutes early." The leader said. "I like punctuality. But who's the dame?"

"My assistant."

"And I'm supposed t' believe that? She's too young to have been more than a kid when the first bomb went off years back."

"Which is why I need her." Brian bluffed. "She knows a few details I don't. Details that can make the boom bigger. You want the bombs? Then you don't just want me, you want us both."

The enforcer seemed to think that over for a moment. "Alright, fair enough. C'mon you two, let's get moving."

Both Brian and Miri were grabbed by the mobsters and blindfolded, then led to a waiting van. They were shoved inside and driven away. High above, Rainbow Dash followed as the van drove in a series of complex loops through the city streets. "Throwing off tails?" She wondered, "Or just making it so that they won't know how far they were actually taken?" Her musings tended towards the latter when the van ended up stopping at a warehouse less than two blocks from where the trip started.

As Rainbow watched, her father and Miri were ushered out of the van and into the warehouse. She flew down and peered in through a skylight. Inside, she could see three people, two men and a woman, already tied up in chairs with mob enforcers guarding them. There were two more chairs, and Brian and Miri were forced into them and also tied up. A new man, richly dressed and exuding an air of self-importance stepped into view. Clearly the boss of this little gang. "Mystery villain enter and sign-in please." Dash thought to herself...

Brian and Miri looked around as the blindfolds were removed. Seeing his friends, Brian immediately began asking if they were okay.

"Other then the lumps on the back of our heads, we're doin' fine." Solomon answered. "But I'd sure like to know what all this is about. How'd you get mixed up in all this Brian?"

"Yeah! Tell them you don't even know what this 'bomb' business is about!"

A sound of someone clearing his throat caught everyone's attention. Out of the shadows stepped a tall man in a thousand dollar suit. "You'd better hope he does know lady." The man said. "You'll forgive me for not shaking hands, but, well, you are tied up... Don Calamari at your service."

"The boss of the whole city!?"

"The same. And if you don't do what I want, well, it's cement shoes for all of you." The Don pointed at a set of precast concrete blocks with shoes set in them.

Miri stared at the blocks, then with a raised eyebrow asked, incredulously, "Your cement shoes are pre-made?"

"Of course. It saves time. Though... I do admit it lacks the personal touch of years past."

"Wow..."

"What!? Youse want I should be inefficient just because I'm evil?" The Don shook his head. "Back on topic." He stared at Brian. "You gonna work for us or no?"

Brian stared right back into the Don's eyes and, to the shock of his three friends, answered "Let my friends go and I'll give you all the bombs you want."

"Good. But, I want the first bomb before we release them. Gotta make sure you hold up your end."

Watching and listening from above, Rainbow tensed up. This was bad. The plan had been for Brian's friends to be released, so that only he and Miri who already knew about Equestria would be present for the rescue. Now, with three others present, things would get complicated. "Now what...?" She asked herself...


	10. Chapter 10

Dashie: Twenty Percent Cooler

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own MLP, nor am I in any way affiliated with the author of the story this fic is based upon.

XXXXXXX

Chapter Ten

The Bleed. In the space between worlds, a powerful entity observed events on Earth with growing concern. The fact that direct intervention would be necessary had long since been accepted as unavoidable, but this was sooner than hoped. Sooner, and under quite different circumstances. "Oh Celestia, why didn't you listen to the prophecy?" The being thought with a shake of the head. "Human and Pony should have been in contact long before now..."

A sudden shout echoed through the emptiness. "I'm back!"

"So I sensed." The entity replied. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Sure. But there's time. There's always time if you think there is."

"If you say so. And in the meantime the single point of contact between Earth and Equis is held by men with names like 'Needles' and 'Barry the Blade.'"

"And 'Johnny da Snitch.'"

"Yes... That as well." the reply was droll. "Regardless of their names, these mobsters are a danger to our plan. And there is no longer time to spare. I'm going to have to intervene in person."

"Ahh, you already knew that. But not yet, I've got this one covered."

"Are you sure? Really sure?"

"It's me! What'dya think?"

"-"

"Right. Don't answer that. Anyway, I'll be on my way. Lots to do."

Alone again, the entity returned her focus to a certain warehouse on Earth. She hoped trusting her friend wasn't a mistake...

XXXXXXX

Port Timbrey. Rainbow Dash continued to watch and listen from the roof of the warehouse. The mob Don had told her father that he would release Solomon, Thomas, and Sara only after Brian and Miri had proven their willingness to cooperate by producing a functioning bomb. Problematic since the rescue plan had hinged on getting Brian's friends set free before Dash came in to save him and Miri.

"Can't you just let them free?" Brian asked. "I mean, it's not like you don't know where they live now..."

"True, dat, and don't youse all forget it." the Don answered. "But I still wants a test first... Tell you what, here's what we gonna do: The boys an' I are gonna go across the street 'ta Solly's Diner for lunch. Don't bother tryin' ta' escape, the only way in or outta this place is in full view o' the diner. You gots one hour to think things over. Make the right choice." With that, the Don motioned for his men to follow him, and they all exited the room.

Once they were alone, Thomas looked Brian in the eyes and said "Bri, I'm gonna be real calm and collected here... WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?"

"Yeah! Please tell me you're not really building bombs!" Sara added.

"Of course not!" Brian answered. "Though... I do know what was really up with those blasts."

His friends all stared at him. "Well? What?" Sara demanded.

Brian sat quietly. "Brian?" Miri whispered. "I think we're gonna have to tell them."

"Yeah... Yeah I guess so..."

On the roof, Rainbow Dash nodded. The Princesses wouldn't be happy with so many humans knowing the truth, but there really was no choice in the matter. She glanced at the recall device she wore around her neck, and saw that the lights on it were still red rather than green. "C'mon Twi, don't let me down." She thought, and then started looking for a way to get inside and down to Brian and the others.

The skylight itself was a bust. There was no way to open it up, and breaking the glass would just leave sharp jagged shards falling directly on the hostages' heads. Searching, Dash quickly located an access hatch. It was rusted heavily, and she needed all the strength she had to make the wheel turn, but once it started moving things were easier. Carefully opening the hatch, cringing at the annoyingly loud sound it made, Dash crept inside and began searching her way through the dark, narrow hallways.

As she went, she found no sign of any other humans. It seemed the Don really had taken all of his men with him to the diner. "All the better." Dash thought, but knew that she still needed to be very careful. It wouldn't do, after all, to round a corner and be face to face with a very quiet guard. Slow and careful, then, was the order of the day, but she was still Rainbow Dash. Fast and caution-to-the-wind was more her style. Balancing the two was not an easy task...

XXXXXXX

Canterlot. Twilight Sparkle went over the latest reports on the construction of the gate for the fifth time today. She was pleased with how well the work was progressing. The actual physical structure of the gate was complete. She looked over the top of the reports that were held floating in her magic, to where a team of four unicorn scientist-mages were casting spells onto and into the structure.

In human terms, the spells now being cast were the magical equivalent of an operating system for the gate; essentially, if the gate were a computer these spells were the programs that would make it able to do things. They were horrendously complex. Even Twilight's eyes had crossed after a few hours of studying up on spells that had lines like "Go submana blue fifteen; checksum submana red three," or, "If ((Universe) (Cosmological Constant) = (Negative)) Then (Run Program (Emergency Shutdown))." With a sigh, the unicorn sat the reports back on her desk and decided it was time to get a nice cup of tea.

She turned, to find herself less than an inch from the face of Pinkie Pie. "Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight Twilight!" The pink pony shouted.

Twilight yelped and fell over backwards. "Pinkie! What are you doing!?"

"Oh it's bad Twilight we need your help 'cause we've got a problem and time is running out and-" Pinkie was silenced by a lavender hoof in her mouth.

"Calm down Pinkie. Where have you been anyway? We've all been worried."

"Of you didn't have to worry silly filly! I was on Earth with Dashie!"

"You what!? But how... I mean... Even for YOU, How?"

"Long story. What matters is, Dashie and her dad and a nice human girl named Miri are in trouble because when Dashie did a sonic rainboom years ago the mob thought it was a bomb and now they've captured him to build bombs for them and if he doesn't they'll whack him and all his friends and Dashie needs the recall-thingie working so that she can save them!"

Twilight facehoofed. "The scary thing is, I actually followed that. But Pinkie, the gate's not ready yet! It won't be for days!"

"You can't even just turn it on for a few seconds?"

"No we... Wait... Maybe we can. It only needs to send out the recall beacon after all..."

Twilight turned and ran to the unicorns magically programming the gate. Stopping them, she quickly spelled out the situation, then asked, "Can it be done?"

"Yes, but we'll still need a few minutes to input the last bits of the beacon program. If we all work on it together we can have it ready in, say, twenty minutes."

"Do it." Twilight ordered. As the unicorns set to work, she turned back to Pinkie... Who was gone. "Huh. Where'd she go?"

XXXXXXX

Port Timbrey. Brian Dashell sighed and looked his friends in the eyes. "What I'm about to tell you... You'll think I'm nuts. But, Miri can confirm it's true and you'll see for yourself in a few minutes if everything works out..."

"Just get to the story man." Thomas said.

"Okay then, it's like this... Those blasts, they weren't bombs. They were Sonic Rainbooms."

"Sonic... Hold on, you mean like what the rainbow pony in that cartoon does?" Solomon asked. "That's cartoon physics Brian, it don't work in the real world."

"Turns out they do." Brian said. "Fifteen years ago, I was walking home from work when I found a big cardboard box on the sidewalk. I was drawn to it for some reason. And inside, I found a small creature, alive."

"Creature?"

"It was... It was Rainbow Dash. A living, breathing, not-a-cartoon flesh and blood Rainbow Dash, a filly instead of an adult, but undeniably her. I couldn't leave her out in the cold. I took her home, took her in, raised her for fifteen years until one day Celestia showed up to take her home."

"Aw Brian, you're cracked man, you've lost it!"

"No he hasn't." Miri said firmly. "I've seen this for myself."

"Okay so you're both nuts!" Thomas shouted, "Oh, this is just great! We're gonna be killed by the mafia because our old friend has lost his marbles and thinks an old cartoon show is real!"

"Give me a chance, please." Brian argued. "I told you you'd see in a few minutes. Dashie's back, she's here now. She should be coming in to set us free."

"Ooh, yeah, the hallucination will free us!" Thomas snarked.

Sara glared at her husband. "Be serious here! Sarcasm isn't gonna accomplish anything! I think I can get a hand free eventually, maybe that'll do the trick."

"You're forgetting there's no other way out of here than past the mobster-filled diner." Solomon said.

"We've got a way out." Miri said.

Not finished snarking, Thomas asked, "Oh, let me guess! Rainbow Whatever will come and take us to magical-pony land!"

"In point of fact..."

"Dammit Brian! We need real answers not fantasies!"

Before Thomas could continue, a voice spoke from beyond the closed door. "Pops, you in there?"

"We're here Dashie!"

"Have you told them, well, you know...?"

"They don't believe me, but yeah I've told them."

"Good, I'm comin' in!" Half a moment later, with an enormous crash, the locked door flew inward, bucked clean off of it's hinges. A pegasus flew in through the now open doorway.

Three pairs of eyes grew wide at the sight. "Son of a..." Solomon whispered. Thomas simply fainted, and Sara stared in shock.

Rainbow landed in Brian's lap. "You're okay? They didn't hurt you?"

"No, no they didn't."

"Alright, let me get you all untied." Dash jumped down, trotted behind Brian's chair, and started working on the ropes binding him. As she worked she said "Listen, once you're all loose you need to stay close to me. When I say 'now,' reach over and touch me, back, sides, wings, it doesn't matter but touch me. You won't be pulled through the gate to safety unless you're in contact with me."

"Gate?" Sara asked.

"To Equestria." Dash answered. She finished with the ropes binding her father and set to work on Sara's while Brian worked to free Miri.

"Is the gate open yet?" Brian asked.

Dash glanced down at the recall pendant again. Red light. "No. Keep strong, it's Twilight. She won't let us down."

Solomon raised an eyebrow. "Twilight... ...Sparkle?"

"You know the show." Dash grinned.

"Watch it with my daughters."

"I don't." Sara said. "And I'm not sure I wanna go to some other world."

"It's horseshoes or cement shoes." Brian said. "Take your pick."

"Well when you put it like that..." Sara pulled her arms free as the ropes fell away. "Thanks."

"No big." Dash smiled. Meanwhile Brian was freeing Solomon and Miri Thomas, who was starting to come around.

"Sara? Babe? I had the weirdest dream..." He mumbled, as he shook his head then opened his eyes to the sight or Rainbow hovering in front of him.

"I had a weird dream too." Dash said, "About these things called humans. Very strange."

Thomas shouted as he tried to jump back but was still tied to the chair. Dash laughed. "Oh that was awesome! You shoulda seen the look on your face!"

From across the room came another voice. "Da horse-thing is right. The look on your face was wonderful... Just like the look on all of your faces now." Don Calamari strode into the room. "We finished lunch early. Looks like it's a good thing we did, too..."


End file.
